Vania, de Vania Zouravliov

Vania Zouravliov is a London-based illustrator of Russian origin, in whose work we find a mixture of innocence, sexuality, beauty and decadence, all wrapped up in a great deal of symbolism and intricate detail. His dark motifs with erotic scenes are both sensual and provocative. Vania works drawing from beginning to end, without sketches, and although on a first visit to his work we found an absence of color and a Gothic environment, in his most recent works (as can be seen in his work exhibited at bigactive), this it already acquires a close-up, slipping at the same time towards a more contemporary universe.
Vania Zouravliov began drawing at the age of 4, and had his first exposure to it at 8. He has received classical art training in both Russia and Scotland. During his teenage years he drew for private art collections, including those of Vladimir Ashkenazi, Freud Bella, and Adjani. Also specifying several solo exhibitions in Paris and St. Petersburg. During his teenage years he did a series of comic books for Fantagraphics Books and several picture books for the Erotic Society. Zouravliov regularly does artwork for musicians and has worked for labels such as Warp, Domino, America Nettwerk and Lo Recordings. In 2006 he drew for various books published by Die Gestalten Verlag and produced work for The New York Times magazine. He is currently working on projects for National Geographic and the musician Beck. Zouravilov was inspired from an early age by influences as diverse as The Bible, Dante's Divine Comedy, early Disney animation, and North American Indians. The elaborate illustrations of him are a mixture of innocence, brutality, beauty and decadence, mixed with the colors and styles of communism in Eastern Europe. Something of a child prodigy in his native country, he was championed by many influential classical musicians such as Ashkenazi, Spivakov and Menuhin. At the age of 13 he was internationally known. The first monograph on him was recently published by Gestalten.